2020/21 Admissions Arrangements & Criteria for Havering Community Infant, Junior and Primary schools
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2020/21 Admissions Arrangements & Criteria for
Havering Community Infant, Junior and Primary schools
Publication date:
15 March 2019
Determination date:
28 February 2019Contents Background ........................................................................................................................................................... 3 When should parents/carers apply for a 2020 reception school place ................................................................ 3 Applying for a place in reception in an infant or primary school or academy...................................................... 3 Havering residents wanting a school in a different Local Authority (LA) ............................................................. 3 Parents who do not live in Havering but are requesting a Havering school......................................................... 4 Voluntary Aided Denominational, Foundation, Academies and Free schools ..................................................... 4 How we use preferences....................................................................................................................................... 4 A simple example of how the “Equal Preference System” works ........................................................................ 4 Late applications ................................................................................................................................................... 6 Late applications requesting Havering schools..................................................................................................... 6 Late applications requesting other London Borough schools .............................................................................. 7 Parents/carers who move into Havering from another London Borough ............................................................ 7 Children with statements of special educational need (SEN) or a Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) ....... 7 Equality Act 2010 .................................................................................................................................................. 7 Infant Class Size..................................................................................................................................................... 7 Children with a disability....................................................................................................................................... 8 Twins and multiple births ..................................................................................................................................... 8 Starting school ...................................................................................................................................................... 8 Admission of children outside of their chronological year group......................................................................... 9 Children of UK service personnel (UK Armed Forces)........................................................................................... 9 Changing Preferences after submitting an application ........................................................................................ 9 School preference order ....................................................................................................................................... 9 Using all preferences............................................................................................................................................. 9 Home to school travel ........................................................................................................................................... 9 Offers .................................................................................................................................................................. 10 Accepting or declining an offer ........................................................................................................................... 10 Waiting lists ......................................................................................................................................................... 10 Remaining on a waiting list after the first Academic term. ................................................................................ 11 Appeals................................................................................................................................................................ 11 Appealing against admission decisions ............................................................................................................... 11 Further Appeals................................................................................................................................................... 11 Infant Class Size Appeals ..................................................................................................................................... 11 Transfer from Infant to Junior schools ................................................................................................................ 12 In Year Admissions .............................................................................................................................................. 12 Use of the Fair Access Protocol........................................................................................................................... 13 Admissions criteria for Community infant and primary schools ........................................................................ 14 Admissions criteria for Community Junior schools ............................................................................................. 15 Definitions of Admissions Criteria....................................................................................................................... 16 Looked after Children / Previously Looked after Children.................................................................................. 16
Exceptional social or exceptional medical grounds ............................................................................................ 16
Sibling (brother or sister) .................................................................................................................................... 17
Distance of the home address from the school .................................................................................................. 17
Home Address ..................................................................................................................................................... 17
Admission to Maintained Nursery Classes.......................................................................................................... 19
Appendix 1 – Published Admissions Numbers (PAN) for Community infant, junior and primary schools:........ 20
Appendix 2 - Partner infant / junior schools in Havering: .................................................................................. 20
-2-Background
The Local Authority (LA) is required by law to co-ordinate all admissions for Reception and Infant
to Junior schools (excluding private schools) within the borough.
This LA is part of the Pan-London Co-ordinated Admissions System. The London Inter Authority
Admissions Group (LIAAG) is the Admissions Executive Board and is responsible for the scheme
that co-ordinates admissions to schools across all boroughs. A copy of the scheme can be
viewed on the Havering School Admissions website www.havering.gov.uk/admissions.
The co-ordinated system is in place to ensure parents receive only one offer of a school place for
their child.
The majority of infant, junior and primary schools in Havering are Community schools there are in
addition a few Academies. The governing body for Academy schools are responsible for setting
the admissions criteria for the school. Academies are required to determine their admissions
arrangements for their 2020 intake by no later than 28 February 2019 and place a copy of these
on their website by 15 March 2019.
When should parents/carers apply for a 2020 reception school place
If your child was born between 1 September 2015 and 31 August 2016 they can start full time
school in September 2020.
Applying for a place in reception in an infant or primary school or academy.
Only legal guardians with parental responsibility are entitled to make an application for a child’s
school place. A guardian is defined as a parent or carer who has legal responsibility for the child
this includes a person who is named legally through a Court Order.
Applications will only be discussed in the first instance with the person / people named on the
online application. If a person not named on the application can provide evidence that they have
parental responsibility, and the applicant cannot provide any legal reason as to why the person
not named on the application cannot receive information, then information will be disclosed to the
person not named on the application.
Parents/carers residing in Havering should complete the Common Application Form (CAF) online
via the eAdmissions website (www.eadmissions.org.uk). Parents who are unable to complete the
CAF online will be able to visit the Public Advice & Service Centre (PASC) based in Romford’s
Liberty Shopping Centre where Admissions Staff will be able to assist with this online process.
Details of opening days and times are published on the Havering website
www.havering.gov.uk/admissions). All applications must be submitted by the 15 January 2020.
Parents/carers may list up to 6 preferred schools that they wish their child to be considered for
within or outside Havering and rank them in order of preference. Should parents/carers wish their
children to be considered for any Voluntary Aided Denominational schools or an Academy / Free
school, they need to ensure these schools are also included on the CAF.
Where Parents/carers apply for places at a Voluntary Aided Denominational school or an
Academy / Free school (in or outside Havering), they may need to complete a Supplementary
Information Form (SIF) for each of these schools / Academies. These forms must be submitted
direct to the school / Academy concerned with any documents that the school requests by the
closing date. The SIF forms will be available directly from the relevant school.
Havering residents wanting a school in a different Local Authority (LA)
Havering residents who wish their child to be considered for a school in another Local Authority
must name these schools on the online CAF. If parents/carers apply for places at Voluntary
-3-Aided Denominational, Foundation, Academy or Free schools outside of Havering, they may be
required to complete a SIF for each of these schools and submit them direct to the school
concerned with any documents that the school requests by the closing date 15 January 2020.
Parents who do not live in Havering but are requesting a Havering school
Each Local Authority (LA) is responsible for providing education or training to children of school
age (five to eighteen) living in their LA.
Parents/carers not resident in Havering will need to ensure they read the admissions booklet
from their own LA as well as the Admissions Criteria for the Havering school/s they wish to apply
for. Parents/carers must complete their own Local Authorities Common Application Form (CAF),
listing the Havering school/s and complete any relevant Supplementary Information Form (SIF)
required before the closing date of 15 January 2020.
Voluntary Aided Denominational, Foundation, Academies and Free schools
Voluntary Aided Denominational, Foundation, Academies and Free schools may also require
parents/carers to complete their Supplementary Information Forms (SIF) which must be returned
direct to the schools with additional documents before the date specified in their admissions
arrangements.
The Admissions Team are not responsible for, and will not accept, any supplementary
information forms on behalf of parents for these schools. The Governing Bodies are the
Admissions Authorities for these schools, and each school follows its own admissions criteria to
rank positions for applicants. SIF’s are not valid unless a CAF is also completed for that child.
How we use preferences
The Admissions Team processes all applications using the equal preference system which is a
model system where all preferences listed on the Common Application Form (CAF) are
considered under the Admissions Criteria for each school without reference to parental rankings.
The “Equal Preference System” was created to prevent schools giving higher priority to parents
who make a particular school their first preference. The system is set out in the School
Admissions Code and it has legal force.
Every school that you place on your online application form is treated as if it was a separate
application – each one is equal – and the highest possible preference will be offered. The
admission authority cannot discriminate against your application simply because you did not put
a school in first place on the CAF.
Schools are not told where you ranked them in your preferences. Admission authorities are
expressly forbidden by law (again, it is detailed in the Admissions Code) from passing on this
information.
Below is a highly simplified explanation of how the system works, but it is important to realise that
the system is considerably more complicated than the example below and the admissions criteria
for any school are always far more complex than in this example.
A simple example of how the “Equal Preference System” works
“Sample LA” has three schools: Park School, Town School and Wood School, and each school
has a published admissions number of 3 (can offer places to three children). There are therefore
nine places available across this “sample” Local Authority and there are nine children requiring
places.
-4-Places are offered according to the distance the children live from the school. Parents can
express up to three preferences, and their applications were completed as follows.
Abdul Beth Takita David Ethan Fred Gavin Harry Jane
Pref 1 Town Park Park Park Wood Town Town Park Town
Pref 2 Park Wood Town Town Town Wood Park Wood Park
Pref 3 - Town Wood - Park Park - Town Wood
After all applications had been considered against the schools published admissions criteria and
the equal preference system applied, the outcomes were as follows.
PARK – 3 PLACES TOWN – 3 PLACES WOOD – 3 PLACES
1 Beth (1) - 0.2km Jane (1) - 0.1km Harry (2) - 0.5km
2 Takita (1) - 0.5km Abdul (1) - 0.3km Ethan (1) - 0.8km
3 David (1) - 0.7km Fred (1) - 0.5km Gavin – 2.1km
4 Harry (1) - 0.9km Gavin (1) – 2.5km
5 Gavin (2) - 2km
A step by step explanation of how these outcomes were achieved is below.
Step 1: The children are listed for all schools that they have named on their application form, not
in the order of their preferences, but in order of the admissions criterion which, in this simplified
example, is purely distance and nothing else. (That is an unrealistic situation, but the simplified
example is designed to help you to understand the essential process.) The children’s application
preferences are shown in brackets and distances to the school are also shown.
PARK – 3 PLACES TOWN – 3 PLACES WOOD – 3 PLACES
1 Beth (1) - 0.2km Jane (1) - 0.1km Takita (3) - 0.3km
2 Fred (3) - 0.3km Takita (2) - 0.18km Jane (3) - 0.4km
3 Jane (2) - 0.4km Beth (3) - 0.2km Harry (2) - 0.5km
4 Takita (1) - 0.5km Harry (3) - 0.25km Beth (2) - 0.6km
5 Ethan (3) - 0.6km Abdul (1) - 0.3km Fred (2) - 0.7km
6 David (1) - 0.7km Ethan (2) - 0.4km Ethan (1) - 0.8km
7 Harry (1) - 0.9km Fred (1) - 0.5km
8 Abdul (2) - 1.0km David (2) - 0.6km
9 Gavin (2) - 2km Gavin (1) - 2.5km
Step 2: Beth and Jane are at the top of the lists for their first preference school, so they are
offered places and removed from the lists for the other two schools. Also, as Fred, Harry and
Takita can be offered their 2nd preferences, their 3rd preferences are removed from the lists as
follows:
PARK – 3 PLACES TOWN – 3 PLACES WOOD – 3 PLACES
1 Beth (1) - 0.2km Jane (1) - 0.1km
2 Takita (2) - 0.18km
3 Harry (2) - 0.5km
4 Takita (1) - 0.5km
5 Ethan (3) - 0.6km Abdul (1) - 0.3km Fred (2) - 0.7km
6 David (1) - 0.7km Ethan (2) - 0.4km Ethan (1) - 0.8km
7 Harry (1) - 0.9km Fred (1) - 0.5km
8 Abdul (2) - 1.0km David (2) - 0.6km
9 Gavin (2) - 2km Gavin (1) – 2.5km
-5-Step 3: Ethan, Takita, Fred, Abdul and David can be offered a place at their 1st preference so are
removed from the lists of their lower preferences.
PARK – 3 PLACES TOWN – 3 PLACES WOOD – 3 PLACES
1 Beth (1) - 0.2km Jane (1) - 0.1km
2
3 Harry (2) - 0.5km
4 Takita (1) - 0.5km
5 Abdul (1) - 0.3km
6 David (1) - 0.7km Ethan (1) - 0.8km
7 Harry (1) - 0.9km Fred (1) - 0.5km
8
9 Gavin (2) - 2km Gavin (1) – 2.5km
Step 4: All the remaining children now move up the lists into the vacant places.
PARK – 3 PLACES TOWN – 3 PLACES WOOD – 3 PLACES
1 Beth (1) - 0.2km Jane (1) - 0.1km Harry (2) - 0.5km
2 Takita (1) - 0.5km Abdul (1) - 0.3km Ethan (1) - 0.8km
3 David (1) - 0.7km Fred (1) - 0.5km **Gavin - 2.1km
4 Harry (1) - 0.9km Gavin (1) – 2.5km
5 Gavin (2) - 2km
Step 5: Harry has received a place at his second preference school but will stay on the waiting
list for his first preference, Park School. Unfortunately Gavin has not been offered either of his
preference schools, so has receive an allocation of a place at Wood School, which was not one
of the preferences on his application but does have a vacancy.
Gavin’s situation demonstrates:
The importance of using all the preferences on the application form if you feel that you
need to, especially if you are trying to avoid being offered a particular school.
That you must be realistic about your chances of getting in to a particular school. Gavin’s
parents may not have understood just how poor his chances of getting into their first and
second preference schools were.
The example above also demonstrates how pointless it is to do what some parents do, which is
to name only one school (often a heavily over-subscribed one) on the application form in the
belief that “if I only put that school down they will have to give us a place”.
Wherever possible you must name at least one school that would be an acceptable “last resort”
for your child.
Late applications
Late applications requesting Havering schools
Havering will accept late applications for consideration in the first round of offers only in the event
of exceptional circumstances, which must be submitted in writing to the School Admissions Team
Leader. Each case will be considered and will be decided on its own merits. Examples of what
will be considered as valid reasons include:
if a single parent has been seriously ill for some time
a family has been dealing with the death of a close relative
a family has just moved into the area after submitting an on time application in their
previous area
-6- Parents/carers have just arrived in the borough and the delay has been created by factors
outside of their control.
Proof will be required in all cases.
Except in cases listed above, applications for places received after 15 January 2020 will not be
considered until all of the applications received by that date have been dealt with. It is crucial
therefore for parents/carers to adhere to the deadline to stand a realistic chance of any of their
preferences being offered.
Late applications requesting other London Borough schools
Where late applications contain preferences for schools in other London Boroughs, Havering will
forward the details to those LA’s via a secure document exchange system. The latest date for
the upload to the other London Boroughs for late applications which are considered to be on-time
within the terms of the home LA’s scheme is 11 February 2020.
Parents/carers who move into Havering from another London Borough
Where a parent/carer moves from another London Borough to Havering after submitting an on-
time application under the terms of their previous home authority’s arrangements, Havering will
treat the application as on-time if received before 11 February 2020.
Children with statements of special educational need (SEN) or a Education, Health and
Care Plan (EHCP)
The 2014 School Admissions Code states ‘All children whose statement of special educational
needs (SEN) or Education, Health and Care plan (EHCP) names the school must be admitted’.
As a result, we allocate these places first. The remaining places are offered in accordance with
the schools published admission criteria.
Equality Act 2010
An Admission Authority must ensure that their admission arrangements do not discriminate on
the grounds of disability; gender reassignment; pregnancy and maternity; race; religion or belief;
sex; or sexual orientation, against a person in the arrangements and decisions it makes as to
who is offered admission as a pupil. The admissions criteria applied by this LA as the Admission
Authority for the Havering community schools is non- discriminatory.
Infant Class Size
Infant classes, (those where the majority of children will reach the age of 5, 6, or 7 during the
school year) must not contain more than 30 pupils with a single teacher. Additional children may
be admitted under very limited exceptional circumstances. These children will remain an
“excepted pupil” for the time they are in an infant class or until the class numbers fall back to the
current infant class size limit. The excepted children are:
a) Children with statements of special educational need (SEN) or an Education, Health and
Care plan (EHCP) that names a school who are admitted outside the normal admission
round;
b) Looked After Children and previously Looked After Children admitted outside the normal
admission round;
c) Children admitted, after initial allocation of places, because of a procedural error made by
the Admission Authority or Local Authority in the original application process;
d) Children admitted after an Independent Appeals Panel upholds an appeal;
e) Children who move into the area outside the normal admission round for whom there is no
other available school within reasonable distance;
f) Children of UK service personnel admitted outside the normal admission round;
g) Twins and children from multiple births when one of the siblings is the 30th child admitted;
-7-h) Children with SEN who are normally taught in a SEN unit attached to the school, or
registered at a Special school, who attend some infant classes within the mainstream
school.
Children with a disability
It is unlawful for a school in relation to certain activities to treat a disabled child less favourably
than a non-disabled child, without justification. These activities include admissions and a school
must make reasonable adjustments, as necessary, to ensure that this is the case.
Twins and multiple births
In the normal admission round, if the last child to be offered a place is a twin, and their sibling
cannot be offered a place, the Local Authority will ensure that both twins are offered a place
together. In the case of other multiple births, if the majority of children can be offered a place, the
Local Authority will offer places to the remaining children. For example if two triplets can be
offered a place, the remaining child will also receive an offer of a place.
Starting school
Schools in Havering have a single intake into Reception. All children whose date of birth falls
between 1 September 2015 and 31 August 2016 will be eligible to apply for a full time place in
Reception at a Havering school for September 2020.
Local authorities and schools must provide for the admission of all children in the September
following their fourth birthday. Where a child has been offered a place at a school parents have
the following options available to then.
a) the child is entitled to take up a full-time place in the September following their fourth
birthday,
b) the child’s parents can defer the date their child is admitted to the school until later in the
school year but not beyond the point at which they reach compulsory school age (the term
after their fifth birthday) and not beyond the beginning of the final term of the school year
for which the offer was made, and
c) where the parents wish, their child may attend part-time until later in the school year but
not beyond the point at which they reach compulsory school age (the term after their fifth
birthday).
Parents wishing to take up options b) and c) must advise the school offered at their earliest
opportunity in order for the school to facilitate this effectively.
In addition, parents of summer born children1 (those born between 1 April and 31 August) can
request for their child to be admitted to reception a year later outside of their chronological year
group, thereby starting school only once they reach statutory school age. This does not apply to
children born in the autumn and spring as these children must legally be in school full time in the
term after they turn five years old (Further information is provided below).
1
The current legislation that applies to options for Summer Born Children is currently subject to a review by central
government. Any changes will be reflected in the admission arrangements accordingly.
-8-Admission of children outside of their chronological year group
Applicants may choose to seek a place outside their child’s chronological (correct) year group.
Decisions will be made on the basis of the circumstances of each case and what is in the best
interests of the child concerned.
Applicants who are applying for their child to have a decelerated entry to school, i.e. to
start later than other children in their chronological age group, must initially apply for a
school place in accordance with the deadlines that apply for their child’s chronological
age. If, in liaison with the head teacher, the Local Authority agrees for the child to have a
decelerated entry to a community school, the place cannot be deferred and instead the
application will be cancelled and the applicant will be invited to apply again in the following
year for the decelerated cohort.
Applicants who are applying for their child to have an accelerated entry to school, i.e. to
start earlier than other children in their chronological age group, must initially apply for a
school place at the same time that other families are applying for that cohort. If, in liaison
with the head teacher, the Local Authority agrees for the child to have an accelerated
entry to a community school, the application will be processed. If it is not agreed for the
child to have an accelerated entry to a community school, the application will be cancelled
and the applicant will be invited to apply again in the following year for the correct cohort.
Applicants must state clearly why they feel admission to a different year group is in the child's
best interest and provide what evidence they have to support this.
Children of UK service personnel (UK Armed Forces)
The Local Authority will accept applications in advance of a service family residing in the borough
if, the application is accompanied by an official government letter declaring a relocation date and
a Unit postal address or quartering area address for the parents/ carers of the child concerned.
Changing Preferences after submitting an application
Parents/carers can change their preferences by logging onto the online system via
www.eAdmissions.org.uk and resubmitting their application, any changes will supersede the
previous application. All changes must be submitted by the closing date of 15 January 2020 to
be considered as on-time applications.
School preference order
Parents/carers should list their preferences in the order they prefer. If the parents/carers of a
child disagree as to the preferences they wish to express, they should resolve that difference
before submitting the application, as the Local Authority will only process one application for each
child.
Using all preferences
The Local Authority strongly recommends that parents express more than one preference and
this should include a school local to their home address as there is no guarantee that the local
school will be offered in the event where none of the preferred schools have been offered.
Home to school travel
It is important that parents/carers, when selecting their preferences for school admission, take
into account how their child will travel to school and any subsequent costs involved with this.
Transport will only be considered if a child is under 8 years old and is travelling more than two
miles or is over 8 years old and travelling more than three miles to the nearest school with a
-9-place. Transport will not be provided to a school that is further away if a child would have been
offered a vacancy at a nearer school had it been named as a preference on the application form.
Offers
Havering will inform all applicants of the outcome of their applications and where relevant, the
reasons why preferences were not offered if the school concerned is a Havering school.
Havering will ensure, that each Havering applicant who cannot be offered a place at one of their
preferred schools receives an offer of an alternative school place. Under such circumstances
applicants will be allocated a place at the nearest school to the applicant’s home address that
has a place available.
Parents/carers will receive an email during the evening of the 16 April 2020 advising them of the
school they have been offered. Parents/carers will also be advised in the email to log back onto
the eAdmissions website to accept or decline the school offered by the 30 April 2020.
In the event that Parents/carers are unable to view the outcome of their application online, they
can contact the School Admissions team by telephone or e-mail from 17 April 2020.
Parents/carers will be expected to answer several security questions before any information will
be released.
Accepting or declining an offer
Havering strongly recommends that all parents/carers accept the school place offered. Accepting
a school place does not prejudice the chances of being offered a higher preference later on in the
process as the child’s name will automatically be placed on the waiting list for the schools listed
higher than the school offered. Accepting an offer will not affect parent/carers chances at an
Independent Appeal Hearing.
Parents/carers must ensure that they accept the offer of a school place by logging back into the
eAdmissions website as detailed in the email they receive on 16 April 2020. If parents do not
respond the School Admissions Team will issue a reminder. If the parent still does not respond
the School Admissions Team will make every reasonable effort to contact the parent to find out
whether or not they wish to accept the place. Only where the parent fails to respond and the
School Admissions Team can demonstrate that every reasonable effort has been made to
contact the parent, will the offer of a place be withdrawn.
If parents/carers choose to decline an offer this may result in their child being out of school until
they become compulsory school age, which is the term after their 5th birthday.
For children born on or after the 1st day of the Summer Term 2020, this could mean they will
miss the majority of the school year.
Waiting lists
In the event that parents/carers are offered a lower preference school Havering will automatically
place children on a waiting list for higher preference schools. The child’s name will automatically
remain on the waiting list for first Academic term (3 September 2020 to 18 December 2020)
unless a parent advises the Havering School Admissions Team to remove them from the list/s.
The Havering School Admissions Team holds and maintains the waiting lists for all schools in
Havering apart from those that require a Supplementary Information Form (SIF). For schools that
require a SIF the Admissions Team hold a list of applicants who have expressed an interest for
the school and will liaise with the relevant school before making any offers to ensure that the
correct child is being offered based on their schools admissions criteria.
- 10 -Havering are not responsible for waiting lists for schools located outside of Havering.
Parents/carers should contact the individual school concerned or the schools Local Authority to
ask about waiting list procedures.
Priority cannot be given to children based on the date that their application was received or their
name was added to the waiting list. Waiting lists are re-ranked in accordance with the school’s
published admission criteria each time a child’s name is added to the waiting list.
A child’s position on the waiting list can move up as well as down.
Remaining on a waiting list after the first Academic term.
At the end of first academic term, parents/carers wishing for their child’s names to remain on the
waiting list for their preferred schools, must complete an In Year Common Application Form
(ICAF). These forms are available from the Havering website
www.havering.gov.uk/admissions/ICAF. The ICAF will only allow parents/carers to request 4
schools.
Appeals
Appealing against admission decisions
If parents/carers are unhappy about not being offered a place for their child at one of their
preferred schools, they may appeal to an Independent Appeal Panel. Parents/carers wishing to
appeal for school can do so online for the majority of schools via
www.havering.gov.uk/admissions/appeal if the school is not listed on the online appeal form then
parents/carers should contact the school direct for the relevant appeal forms.
Further Appeals
The Local Authority can only consider one appeal for each child during each academic year. In
normal circumstances, there is no right to a second appeal for the same school within the same
academic year. However, if there has been a significant and material change in the family’s
circumstances which they believe affects the level of priority under which the application was
processed, for example, if the family had moved house, the School Admissions Team Leader
may consider a second appeal as long as a parent/carer can provide evidence of the changed
circumstances. If the second appeal is accepted but a place is still not available at the school
requested, parents/carers will be given the right to a second appeal hearing.
Infant Class Size Appeals
The law states that there must not be more than 30 children in an infant class (that is, classes
containing reception, year 1 and year 2 children). Apart from some very limited exceptions, no
infant class may contain more than 30 pupils being taught by one teacher.
Any admissions which would increase a class to more than 30 pupils (with the exception of
‘excepted pupils’) would require 'qualifying measures', such as organising an extra class,
appointing an additional teacher, providing an additional classroom or introducing or extending
mixed age group teaching.
Where the Admission Authority can demonstrate to an Appeals Panel that any further admissions
would require ‘qualifying measures’ your appeal could only be won if the Appeals Panel decided
either that
A mistake had been made in the allocation of places according to the admissions criteria
which had deprived your child of a place and if the criteria had been applied correctly your
child would have received that place
The child would have been offered a place if the arrangements had not been contrary to
mandatory provisions in the 2014 School Admissions Code and the school Standards and
Framework Act 1998
- 11 - That the decision to refuse admission was 'unreasonable' in the circumstances of the
case. 'Unreasonable' as defined by the Courts is construed as being perverse or irrational
and is a very high threshold for an appeal to be successful.
Transfer from Infant to Junior schools
Where a child attends an infant school and is due to transfer to Year 3 Parent/carers must submit
an application via their home Local Authority (Havering residents can apply via
www.eadmissions.org.uk) to attend either the partner junior school or any other junior school (a
list of havering partner Infant and Junior schools is available via Appendix 2).
Applications for Havering Community Junior schools will be considered using the Havering junior
admissions criteria for the preferred school(s) See page 13. Such applications should be
submitted by 15 January 2020.
Parents/carers who wish to apply for a year 3 place in a Primary school will need to complete an
In Year Common Application Form (ICAF). These applications will be dealt with in line with the In
Year admissions process (see below). Parents/carers should be aware that these applications
will be dealt with as they are received. If a place is offered before the end of the Summer Term,
the child would be required to start school immediately as places cannot be held until the child is
due to start year 3.
Havering will co-ordinate the application and a place will be offered at the highest preferred
school with a vacancy. If there are no vacancies at any of the preferred schools, a place will
automatically be allocated to the partner Junior school and the parent/carer will be advised of this
and of their right of appeal against the decision not to offer their child a place at any of their
preferred schools.
In Year Admissions
In Year admissions are admissions that take effect after 1 September 2020
The Local Authority will continue to administer and co-ordinate In Year applications for ALL
schools in Havering.
Parents/carers including out of borough residents, requesting a school place should submit an
application to the School Admissions Team using the In Year Common Application Form (ICAF)
which is available to download from the Havering website
www.havering.gov.uk/admissions/ICAF.
Further information regarding In Year admissions is available in the via the Havering website
www.havering.gov.uk/admissions/inyear
Voluntary Aided Denominational, Foundation, Academies and Free schools that require
Supplementary Information Forms to be completed should be sent to the school direct.
The Local Authority will process the application and a place will be offered at the highest
preferred school/ Academy with a vacancy. If there are no vacancies at any of the preferred
schools/ Academies and the parent has not requested that their child remain at their current
school, the nearest school with a vacancy will be offered. Parents /carers will be advised of this
information in writing and advised of their right of appeal against the decision not to offer their
child a place at any of their preferred schools/ Academy.
- 12 -Use of the Fair Access Protocol
A place at a school or Academy may be offered using the Local Authority’s Fair Access Protocol
when a parent/carer cannot secure any school place under the In Year admission procedures.
Further information is available via www.havering.gov.uk/admissions.
- 13 -Admissions criteria for Community infant and primary schools
The criteria outlined below apply only to Havering Community infant and primary schools as
listed in Appendix 1.
These criteria will be effective for all year groups throughout the academic year 2020/21
Applicants with a signed Statement of Special Educational Needs (SEN) or an Education, Health
and Care plan (EHCP) which names a school will be admitted in accordance with the 2014
School Admissions Code.
If there are more applications to the school than there are places available, then places will be
allocated in the following order of priority.
1. Looked after children and children who were previously looked after.
2. Exceptional medical or exceptional social grounds.
3. Children with siblings on the roll of the school on the date of admission living up to a
distance of 1.6km from the school. Children with a brother or sister at the school on the
date of admission living over 1.6km from the school will also receive priority under this
criterion if the last sibling was admitted before September 2018. This will include children
in partner Junior schools (see appendix 2).
4. The distance of the home address from the school, as measured by a straight line from
the school, those pupils living nearer the school being given higher priority.
A full definition of the above 4 criteria can be found on pages 14-16 of this document.
If, because of oversubscription in any of the categories 1) to 3) above, it is necessary to
distinguish between applicants, the distance of the applicant’s home address from the school, as
measured by a straight line from the school, will be used with those pupils living nearer the
school being given higher priority.
The number of pupils to be admitted to the Reception Year (the admission number) in infant and
primary schools is detailed in Appendix 1.
- 14 -Admissions criteria for Community Junior schools
The criteria outlined below apply only to Havering Community junior schools as listed in
Appendix 1.
These criteria will be effective for all year groups throughout the academic year 2020/21
Applicants with a signed Statement of Special Educational Needs (SEN) or an Education, Health
and Care plan (EHCP) which names a school will be admitted in accordance with the 2014
School Admissions Code.
If there are more applications to the school than there are places available, then places will be
allocated in the following order of priority.
1. Looked after children and children who were previously looked after.
2. Children who attend the partner infant school and are transferring between year 2 and
year 3.
3. Exceptional medical or exceptional social grounds.
4. Children with siblings on the roll of the school on the date of admission living up to a
distance of 1.6km from the school. Children with a brother or sister at the school on the
date of admission living over 1.6km from the school will also receive priority under this
criterion if the last sibling was admitted before September 2018. This will include children
in partner infant schools (see appendix 2).
5. The distance of the home address from the school, as measured by a straight line from
the school, those pupils living nearer the school being given higher priority.
A full definition of the above 5 criteria can be found on pages 14-16 of this document.
If, because of oversubscription in any of the categories 1) to 4) above, it is necessary to
distinguish between applicants, the distance of the applicant’s home address from the school, as
measured by a straight line from the school, will be used with those pupils living nearer the
school being given higher priority.
The number of pupils to be admitted to the Year 3 (the admission number) in junior schools is
detailed in Appendix 1.
- 15 -Definitions of Admissions Criteria
Looked after Children / Previously Looked after Children
Within the admission arrangements for all community schools looked after and previously looked
after children will receive the top priority for a place. Looked after and previously looked after
Children will be considered to be:
Children who are registered as being in the care of a Local Authority or provided with
accommodation by a Local Authority in accordance with Section 22 of the Children Act
1989(a), e.g. fostered or living in a children’s home, at the time an application for a school
is made; and
Children who have previously been in the care of a Local Authority or provided with
accommodation by a Local Authority in accordance with Section 22 of the Children Act
1989(a) and who have left that care through adoption, a child arrangements order (in
accordance with Section 8 of the Children Act 1989 and as amended by the Children and
Families Act 2014) or special guardianship order (in accordance with Section 14A of the
Children Act 1989).
Exceptional social or exceptional medical grounds
Occasionally there will be a very small number of children for whom exceptional social or medical
circumstances apply which will warrant a placement at a particular school. The exceptional social
or medical circumstances must relate to the child. Supporting evidence from a professional is
required such as a doctor and/or consultant for medical cases or a social worker, health visitor,
housing officer, the police or probation officer for other social circumstances. This evidence must
confirm the circumstances of the case and must set out why the child should attend a particular
school and why no other school could meet the child’s needs.
Providing evidence does not guarantee that a child will be given priority at a particular school and
in each case a decision will be made based on the merits of the case and whether the evidence
demonstrates that a placement should be made at one particular school above any other.
Common medical conditions and allergies can usually be supported in all mainstream schools,
therefore priority under a school's exceptional medical criterion would not normally be given for
these. Some mainstream schools have units attached which provide specialist provision for
children with a Statement of Special Educational Needs or an Education, Health and Care Plan
which names the school. The facilities in these units are not normally available to children in the
mainstream school and as such priority under a school’s exceptional social or medical criterion
would not normally be agreed for a mainstream place on the basis of a specialist unit being
attached to the school.
In addition, routine child minding arrangements will not be considered to be an exceptional social
reason for placement at a particular school.
We reserve the right to refer medical evidence to a medical professional within the Local
Authority, where necessary, to assist the panel in making a decision about medical priority for a
school place.
Consideration will be given to each submission by a panel of Local Authority officers consisting
of:
2 Senior Admissions Officers
2 Special Educational Needs Officers
1 Learning Support Manager
- 16 -Sibling (brother or sister)
A sibling will be considered to be:
A brother or sister (that is, another child of the same parents, whether living at the same address
or not), a half-brother or half-sister or a step-brother or step-sister or an adoptive or foster sibling,
living as part of the same family unit at the same address.
Distance of the home address from the school
The distance between the home address and the preferred school is measured in a straight line,
not by the shortest walking or bus route. The measurement is taken between predetermined
point for the preferred school and the address point of the child’s normal place of residence.
Address points are located in the centre of the child’s home, or in the centre of a block of flats.
In the event that two or more applicants, apply for a single place at a preferred school live at
addresses that are located at exactly the same distance from the preferred school, or live in the
same block of flats, the place will be offered on a random basis drawn by an officer of the Local
Authority who is not involved in the admissions process.
Home Address
The home address excludes any business, relative’s or childminder’s address and must be the
child’s normal place of residence. Where the child is subject to a child arrangements order and
that order stipulates that the child will live with one parent/carer more than the other, the address
to be used will be the one where the child is expected to live for the majority of the time. For other
children, the address to be used will be the address where the child lives the majority of the time.
In other cases, where the child spends an equal time between their parents/carers, it will be up to
the parent/carers to agree which address to use. Where a child spends their time equally
between their parents/carers and they cannot agree on who should make the application, we will
accept an application from the parent/carer who is registered for child benefit. If neither parent is
registered for child benefit we will accept the application from the parent/carer whose address is
registered with the child’s current school or nursery.
We will not generally accept a temporary address if the main carer of the child still possesses a
property that has previously been used as a home address, nor will we accept a temporary
address if we believe it has been used solely or mainly to obtain a school place when an
alternative address is still available to that child.
The address to be used for the initial allocation of places will be the child’s address at the closing
date for application. Changes of address may be considered in accordance with Havering’s
coordinated scheme if there are exceptional reasons behind the change. Any offer of a place on
the basis of address is conditional upon the child living at the appropriate address on the relevant
date. Applicants have a responsibility to notify the Havering School Admissions Team of any
change of address and must provide verification of the new address immediately. This should be
supported by evidence from a solicitor regarding the date of exchange of contracts if
parents/carers are purchasing a new home or the signed tenancy agreement if they are renting a
property. The length of a tenancy agreement from the letting agent should be sufficient to cover
the date on which their child would start attending their preferred school.
If a parent/carer is found to have used a false address or deliberately provided misleading
information to obtain a school place, the offer will be withdrawn (or if before the allocation of
places, the application will be cancelled).
- 17 -With regards to how the information provided by parents/carers is handled, the following
statement is detailed on their application form:
“Havering Council will handle information you have provided in line with the Data Protection Act
(DPA) and will be used for school admission purposes. The information will be held in confidence
with only the necessary people working within the combined children’s services able to access
and handle it. The Council has a duty under the Children Act 2004 to work with partners to
develop and improve services to children and young people in the area. As such, the Council
may also use this information for other legitimate purposes and may share information (where
necessary) with other Council departments and external bodies responsible for administering
services to children and young people. For the purpose of validating proof of address the
admissions team may refer to data help by Council Tax records. The Council also has a duty to
protect the public funds it administers, and to this end it may use the information you have
provided on this form for the prevention and detection of fraud. Under the DPA you have the right
to make a formal written request for access to personal data held about you or your child. For
further information please contact the School Admissions Team”
The Local Authority will also refer to the Address of Convenience Assessment protocol which
sets out the procedure by which The London Borough of Havering School Admissions Team will
investigate potential addresses of convenience. This protocol can be viewed online via
www.havering.gov.uk/admissions.
- 18 -Admission to School Nursery Classes
Some schools admit two, three and four year olds into their nursery classes before the Reception
year, sometimes known as early years. Children can access the following early education and
childcare offers where this forms part of the nursery admissions policy:
two year old 15 hour offer (eligible children, application required)
three and four year old universal 15 hour offer (all children)
three and four year old universal 30 hour offer (eligible children of working parents,
application required)
The following community schools in Havering have nursery classes:
Broadford Primary Clockhouse Primary
Crowlands Primary Crownfield Infant
Hacton Primary Hilldene Primary
Hylands Primary Langtons Infant
Mead Primary Newtons Primary
Parklands Infant Rainham Village Primary
Suttons Primary Towers Infant
The following Voluntary Aided, Denominational, Foundation, Academies and Free schools in
Havering have nursery classes:
Drapers’ Brookside Infant Drapers’ Pyrgo Priory (Primary)
Oasis Academy Pinewood (Primary) Rise Park Infant
St Edwards Church of England Primary St Ursula’s Catholic Infant
The Mawney Foundation school (Primary)
In addition to school nursery classes, parents can also access early education and childcare
offers at Childminder, Day Nursery, Preschool, Independent School and Out of School Care
providers. All children will be educated under the same Early Years Foundation Stage (EYFS)
curriculum for children aged birth to five. The Admissions Team are not responsible for
administering or processing early years applications. Parents are advised to contact the early
years providers directly; further information is available via www.havering.gov.uk/earlyyears.
Parents cannot appeal against decisions made about early years admissions or place availability.
Admission to Reception
Attendance at a nursery class or PVI provider on or linked to school grounds does not mean an
automatic transfer to the Reception class of the main school. All parents of three and four year
olds applying for Reception must express a preference for admission to the main school using
the Common Application Form used by their home Local Authority if they live outside of Havering,
or if resident in Havering using Havering’s Common Application Form (CAF).
Parents/carers residing in Havering must complete the online Common Application Form (CAF)
via the eAdmissions website www.eadmissions.org.uk. Parents who have registered for an
eAdmissions account and are unable to complete the application can contact the School
Admissions Team for help and advice.
All Reception applications must be submitted by the 15 January 2020.
- 19 -Appendix 1 – Published Admissions Numbers (PAN) for Community infant, junior and
primary schools’:
Published Admission Numbers for admissions to Reception and Year 3 in September 2020
school Name Published Admission Number
Reception Year 3
Ardleigh Green Infants 90 -
Ardleigh Green Juniors - 90
Brady Primary 60* -
Branfil Primary 90 -
Broadford Primary 90 -
Clockhouse Primary 90 -
Crowlands Primary 90 -
Crownfield Infants 120 -
Crownfield Juniors - 120
Elm Park Primary 60 -
Engayne Primary 90 -
Gidea Park Primary 60 -
Harold Court Primary 60 -
Harold Wood Primary 90 -
Hilldene Primary 90 -
Hylands Primary 90 -
Langtons Infants 60 -
Mead Primary 120 -
The RJ Mitchell Primary 60 -
Nelmes Primary 60 -
Newtons Primary 60 -
The James Oglethorpe Primary 60 -
Parklands Infants 120 -
Parklands Juniors - 120
Parsonage Farm Primary 90 -
Rainham Village Primary 90 -
Scotts Primary 60 -
Squirrels Heath Infants 90 -
Squirrels Heath Juniors - 90
Suttons Primary 60 -
Towers Infants 90 -
Towers Juniors - 90
Whybridge Infants 90 -
* The increase in PAN from 1 September 2020 has been approved but is subject to a call in
period with a deadline of 19 December 2018. In the event that a call in does not happen, the
decision to approve the increase in PAN from 30 to 60 from 1 September 2020 will come into
force on the 20 December 2018. The determined admissions arrangements published on the
council website on 15 March 2019 will reflect the final decision.
- 20 -Appendix 2 - Partner infant / junior schools in Havering:
Ardleigh Green Infant and Junior
Crownfield Infant and Junior
Drapers’ Brookside Infant and Junior (Academies)
Langtons Infant and Langtons Junior Academy (only Junior is Academy)
Parklands Infant and Junior
Rise Park Infant & Junior (Academies)
Scargill Infant and Junior (Academies)
Squirrels Heath Infant and Junior
St Ursula’s Catholic Infant and Junior (Voluntary Aided Denominational schools)
Towers Infant and Junior
Upminster Infant and Junior (Academies)
Whybridge Infant and Whybridge Junior (only Junior school is Academy)
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